ACT Teacher Salary 2026: Pay Scales, Steps, and What to Expect

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The ACT pays among the highest teacher salaries in the country. A graduate starts at $91,396, a top-of-scale classroom teacher earns $129,106, and from January 2026 the employer superannuation rate is 12.5%. For teachers within commuting distance of Canberra, including the nearby NSW towns of Queanbeyan, Yass, and Goulburn, an ACT government role is a strong and often overlooked option. This guide covers the full 2026 pay scale, progression, Catholic and independent rates, and how the ACT stacks up against NSW. All figures are base salary, excluding superannuation, current to December 2025 unless stated.

1. How ACT teacher pay works

ACT government school teachers are employed under the ACT Public Sector Education Directorate (Teaching Staff) Enterprise Agreement 2023–2026, negotiated between the ACT Education Directorate and the Australian Education Union (AEU) ACT Branch.

On 27 January 2024 the Directorate restructured its classifications, replacing the old Classroom Teacher bands with a numbered Teacher Level scale. There are two stages:

• New Educators occupy Teacher Levels 1 to 3 (TL1–TL3). These are teachers working toward and consolidating the Proficient career stage.
• Experienced Teachers occupy Teacher Levels 4 to 8 (TL4–TL8).

Teachers receive an annual increment on a common date of 27 January each year, subject to satisfactory performance. There is no separate competitive application to move up the Teacher Level scale; if your performance is satisfactory, you progress one level each year until you reach the top.

2. Full government pay scale (December 2025)

The following rates took effect on 4 December 2025, the final increase under the 2023–2026 agreement. The agreement delivered the largest pay rise for ACT public school teachers in more than two decades, averaging around 5.5% per year.

Teacher Level scale

A graduate crossing from TL1 to TL8 takes approximately 7 to 8 years at one increment per year. A notable feature: a New Educator reaches $100,006 at TL2 after a single year of satisfactory service, so most ACT teachers cross six figures in their second year, which is rare nationally.

Starting placement can be above TL1 if you hold prior recognised teaching experience. Teachers acting in or moving to leadership roles progress onto the separate School Leader structure (School Leader C, the Executive Teacher classification, pays $145,938 to $149,107 from December 2025), but that sits outside the classroom teacher scale.

3. Progression and the Experienced Teacher pathway

Progression through the Teacher Level scale is incremental, not competitive. Each 27 January, a teacher with satisfactory performance moves up one level. This differs from Victoria's performance-gated progression and from pathways in WA and SA where the top of scale requires a separate application.

New Educator support

New Educators (TL1–TL3) receive structured support built into the agreement: a five-day induction program, reduced face-to-face teaching hours in the first three years, and an additional six support days per year for coaching and mentoring. The reduced teaching load is designed to ease the transition into full-time classroom work, not a pay reduction. New Educators are paid the full TL1–TL3 rates above.

Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT)

The ACT does not have a separate Lead Teacher salary band. Instead, teachers who achieve Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher (HALT) certification through TQI receive a financial reward on top of the Teacher Level scale. If you are below the top of scale, this is an additional salary increment. If you are already at the top (TL8), it is a HALT payment of $7,495 per year (from December 2025), paid fortnightly for one calendar year and renewable while certification is current.

4. Catholic school pay: Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn

Catholic systemic schools in the ACT are run by Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, under the NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2025. The relevant 2025 commitments lifted:

• Graduate teacher salary from $84,978 to $91,397
• Top-of-band teacher salary from $119,288 to $129,106

The endpoints mirror the ACT government scale almost exactly: graduate entry of $91,397 against the government's $91,396, and a top of $129,106 matching the government TL8. NSW and ACT Catholic systemic pay is designed to track the government scale closely, so a teacher choosing between an ACT government school and an ACT Catholic systemic school is, on base pay alone, comparing near-identical numbers. HALT certification is recognised in the Catholic system as well.

The practical decision between the two sectors usually comes down to school culture, location, and non-salary conditions rather than headline pay.

5. Independent school pay in the ACT

ACT independent schools do not share a single salary scale. Most are covered by three-year Multi-Enterprise Agreements (MEAs) negotiated by the Independent Education Union, running from 2025 to January 2028 and covering schools across both NSW and the ACT. Under the ACT arrangements, pay increases of 3% (2025), 4.5% (2026), and 4% (2027) apply.

In practice:

• Established independent schools generally pay at or above government rates for equivalent experience.
• Some experienced teachers translocating to the new agreements received uplifts of several thousand dollars per year.
• Smaller independent schools may sit closer to the MEA or award floor.

Each independent school is its own employer, so the Association of Independent Schools of the ACT (AISACT) does not set a single rate. If you are weighing an independent offer, ask directly which agreement applies, how many steps the scale has, what the superannuation contribution is, and what the face-to-face teaching load looks like. A current government rate is a useful benchmark. For a full sector-by-sector breakdown, see the companion guide on which sector pays teachers more.

6. ACT vs NSW: a note for Canberra-area teachers

This is the comparison that matters most for teachers living near the border. Many Canberra teachers live in NSW (Queanbeyan, Yass, Murrumbateman, the Goulburn corridor), and many NSW-resident teachers can reach an ACT school as easily as a NSW one. So which system pays more?

At graduate level, ACT ($91,396) sits just above NSW ($90,177). At the top of the classroom scale the two are line-ball: NSW's $129,536 edges the ACT's $129,106 by a few hundred dollars. The clearer difference is superannuation: ACT pays 12.5% from January 2026 against NSW's 12%, which on a $110,000 salary is an extra $550 per year into your fund, compounding over a career.

Two practical points for a NSW resident considering an ACT government role:

• Registration is with TQI, not NESA. You will need ACT registration to teach in an ACT school. Interstate teachers can generally obtain TQI registration on the basis of existing accreditation, but it is a separate process and a separate annual fee.
• NSW rates rise in October 2026. A scheduled 3% increase lifts NSW graduate pay to approximately $92,882 and the top step to around $133,422. After that increase, NSW's headline base rates move slightly ahead of the current ACT figures, though ACT retains the superannuation edge until the next ACT agreement is settled.

For most border teachers the decision is close enough that commute, school, and conditions decide it. The ACT is rarely the lower-paying choice. For the registration process itself, see the ACT teacher registration guide.

7. Take-home pay: a worked example

Estimated figures using 2025–26 ATO income tax brackets and the 2% Medicare levy. Employer superannuation (12.5% from January 2026) is paid separately and does not reduce take-home pay. Figures are estimates and exclude HECS-HELP repayments.

8. How the ACT compares nationally

The ACT consistently ranks near the top of the national table.

• Graduate pay: at $91,396, the ACT has the second-highest graduate starting salary in Australia, behind only the Northern Territory ($96,180) and ahead of NSW, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, and Victoria.
• Top classroom scale: at $129,106, the ACT sits alongside NSW ($129,536) and above WA's Level 2.9 ($127,737), SA ($119,647), Tasmania ($118,328), and Victoria's current top ($118,063, pending the October 2026 increase).
• Superannuation: the 12.5% ACT rate is among the highest government employer contributions in the country.

The ACT's standout feature is not a single record figure but consistency: high at entry, high at the top, fast progression to six figures, and strong super. For a small jurisdiction, it is one of the most competitive teacher pay systems in Australia. For how the ACT compares with every other state and territory, see the teacher salary by state guide.

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